


Pretty

by Grimnut



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Incest, Nutcest, Twincest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:15:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26586460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grimnut/pseuds/Grimnut
Summary: Ruffnut Thorston didn't care about other people's opinion on her, but becoming more and more aware of her feelings for Tuffnut puts her in an unfamiliar position: her self-confidence is crumbling for the first time in forever. In an act of despair she seeks validation from the one person she cares most about.
Relationships: Ruffnut Thorston/Tuffnut Thorston
Kudos: 10





	Pretty

**Author's Note:**

> Written by Lepi  
> Co-written and translated by Yakn0g

“Am I pretty?”

The question came out of nowhere and threw Tuffnut off.

He sat in his bed, playing with a piece of rope, and wasn’t quite ready to openly admit what he was thinking about his sister’s looks for the first time.

He tied another knot and laughed.

“Just take a look in the mirror- oh wait, it shattered the last time you did,” he played off his uncertainty by taking a jab at her instead.

Tuffnut’s laugh quieted down when he noticed the lack of response from his usually quick-witted sister. He untied the knot and glanced over to Ruffnut but she was turned away from him, so he couldn’t read her face.

“Ruff?” he tried. 

No reply.

“Hey,” his voice had an irritated tone to it now and he put down the rope. With two steps he reached her bed and brusquely shook her by the shoulder. 

“Come on, that was hilarious!”

Ruffnut continued ignoring him and he stared at the back of her head, feeling stupid. 

Without further ado Tuffnut joined her in bed, kneeling behind her as he let himself fall over her torso. He was bracing himself over her in an arch, propped up on his arms, and looked at her upside down. His dreads were everywhere, and he shot her one of his crooked grins.

“What’s up?”

Ruffnut quickly hid under her blanket but Tuffnut still caught sight of her tear-stained face, his grin fading gradually.

“Oh, uh…”

His sister never cried. 

She would be angry, mischievous, careless, but she was never  _ sad _ .

When Ruffnut Thorston was sad enough to cry that meant code red.

This was serious, very serious, and Tuffnut was uncertain about how he should handle the situation.

He adjusted his position, sitting over her right side up now.

“Did something happen?” he asked and tried to pull away her covers with little effect.

“Ughh come on, Ruff. I don’t have all night, just spill it!”

His sister didn’t budge, still not replying to him and hiding away instead.

Tuffnut knew it was time to bring out the big guns.

“Ohhh, don’t make me do it!” he threatened playfully, “You know I will do it!”

His hand moved towards her waist, his intentions clear.

“TUFFNUT STOP IT!” Ruffnut yelled, her demand muffled by the blanket.

“Oh,  _ it _ can talk,” he quipped and pinched her lightly, causing her to jerk. 

Tuffnut could feel how his sister’s body stiffened in anticipation. He accepted the challenge and started tickling her for real now, not holding back.

Suddenly Ruffnut rose, the blanket falling from her face which was red and wet, and glared at her brother angrily.

“I said stop it!” she hissed and wanted to dive down and hide again but Tuffnut held her by the wrists.

Unwilling to give up, Ruffnut struggled against his tight grip, causing both twins to end up in a tussle. Tuffnut, who had the better position, quickly gained the upper hand and pressed her down. He sat down on top of her midriff, held both of his sister’s wrists in one hand and proceeded to tickle her with the other.

“Contrary to you I’m still in need of my beauty sleep,” he said, “You’ve certainly missed the boat on that.”

It was meant as a joke but it couldn’t have been timed worse.

Ruffnut stopped struggling at once and stared at him with big eyes, shocked at his words, a few more tears running down her cheeks. She got a hold of herself quickly, though, and looked to the side, angry now.

Tuffnut felt bad. He stopped tickling her.

“So you  _ do _ cry because of that?” he asked, his former uncertainty catching back up with him.

“NO! I’m.. I’m just…,” Ruffnut sniffled miserably and tried to wipe her face with her shoulder, ”I’m not crying! Let go of me!” she urged, starting to struggle again.

“You know,” her brother started, “ just because you wiped your tears awa-”

“TUFFNUT!”

“Alright, alright.”

He let go of her, scooting back a little to give her some space.

“I still want to know what’s going on, though,” he warned, “I mean seriously, all this isn’t like you.”

Sulkily, Ruffnut got up. The movement caused her blanket to slide down, revealing her upper body and the nightgown she was dressed in. It was made out of thin white fabric and did exactly nothing to hide her body, although Tuffnut wasn’t sure whether she was aware of that. He ignored it resolutely, keeping his face trained on hers as his ears felt hotter by the second.

“It’s just… You know, I don’t care when people call me ugly.”   
Ruffnut had a hard time conveying what was going on in her head. While Tuffnut was her best friend and she knew she could tell him everything, he was also her brother, and they never talked about stuff like that.

“Sometimes,” she continued with a thin voice, “they  _ might _ get to me, those people I mean. With what they say about how my chin is too pointy, or that I look like a boy.”

She sniffled.

“But they never say such things about Astrid. Everyone just unanimously agrees on how pretty she is, and how awesome she is, and basically everyone has a crush on her.”

“You’re not jealous of  _ Astrid _ , are you?” Tuffnut grinned at her, not believing what his sister was saying.

“It’s not just her!” Ruffnut immediately defended herself, “They do it with Heather, too! Or with... I- I don’t know, uhm.” She paused for a second and bit her lip. When she continued, she talked way more quiet and sounded somewhat hurt. “With the wingmaidens you like so much… Or just anyone, really.”

Tuffnut made an awkward noise in his throat and covered it with a fake cough before he gave an embarrassed laugh and asked: “Haha, what are you talking about?”

“Snotlout told me,” Ruffnut deadpanned and rubbed her arm. “Do you know what happened when the maidens saw us? They didn’t want to let  _ me _ on the island because they thought I was a _ guy _ .” Thinking back to it hurt and she had a hard time hiding it. “Situations like this happen over and over again. At first I thought that people only got it messed up because we’re twins and they’d assume we’re the same gender, but even when I’m by myself I get mistaken for a male.”

Ruffnut sniffled again.

“No one ever tells me I’m pretty. Am I really  _ that  _ ugly?” she looked at Tuffnut, seeking help, but he seemed kind of flustered by this question.

“I- ah,” he laughed awkwardly, “Aw come on, what kind of question is that? You should be glad neither Snotlout nor Fishlegs is crushing on you - like, can you imagine? Eugh, that would be so annoying. And Hiccup? Totally overrated with his luscious brown hair and his missing limb, making him look so bold and daring.” He got lost in that description a little, but finished it with a slick “He’d just talk about boring stuff all day, anyway. What a waste.”

Tuffnut was sure he had successfully turned the conversation around but when he looked into Ruffnut’s eyes he saw new tears well up.

“Am I?” she asked again, weakly, not reacting to anything else he had said.

“Ruff, I’m your brother,” Tuffnut reminded her, “I don’t know things like that.”

He gave her a crooked smile, his eyebrows knit together in an unsure expression.

Those weren’t the words Ruffnut wanted to hear.

Ruffnut Thorston didn’t care about other people’s opinion on her. She knew that when she looked into the mirror there was an appealing viking woman looking back. Sure, not everything she had to offer was viewed as conventionally attractive, but obviously  _ nobody _ was able to find  _ anything _ attractive about her at all, and eventually it started to get to her. After being told off and joked about for such a prolonged time even the strongest conviction would crumble with doubt. 

At first there were just a few cracks showing in her self-confidence, thin as a hair and barely noticeable. A bit of chipped paint here and there but it was salvageable. 

Recently those cracks grew deeper and meaner, brittle edges easy to irritate, chunks and pieces falling out at an alarming rate, stress heightened due to the feelings she didn’t quite know how to handle yet.

Usually, she was the one who got her emotions - _ those _ emotions - under control, not only hiding them away from others but also actively ignoring them. Now the carefully threaded seams were ripped, tears streaming down her face and neck. It made her feel incredibly silly; crying in front of Tuffnut was a weakness to her. 

All she wanted in that moment was to hear those words from her brother, and the rejection made her hurt so much more.

Helplessly, Tuffnut watched his sister burst out into tears again.

He felt like he was being let in on a secret, precious and sacred, where caution was required. He found himself caressing the edges of the cracks with curious fingers, unable to believe his sister would show such weakness.  _ She _ was the tough one of the twins, using steely confidence to get what she wanted, leaving Tuffnut in awe every time. It hurt to see her like this.

To him, it was unfathomable how anyone could not be swept away by her beauty.

He didn’t dare think too much about it, though, scared to open doors that hid possibilities he didn’t want to face. 

“I- I like big chins,” he said into the silence that had been stretching for a while now. He couldn’t meet her eyes, his ears burning.

“What?” Ruffnut hiccuped, barely able to look into his direction.

“I like big chins,” Tuffnut repeated, the tiniest bit of confidence behind his words now, and he shoved his own chin forward for emphasis.

“They’re kind of pointy but very effective in combat,” he joked, actually managing a small sniffled laugh out of Ruffnut.

Tuffnut’s heartbeat sped up dangerously. Unable to look at her directly he continued to keep his gaze low, looking at her hair instead.

“And just look at your hair,” he pointed at it with an open palm, “I know you wear it in braids all the time but it’s really long and nice like this.” After a short pause he added: “I wasn’t able to keep that up!” He shook his head, his dreads swaying around loosely, then reached out to pet her head and smoothen out the strands of hair that got tousled from hiding under the blanket. Ruffnut gave another small laugh at that.

His sister’s positive reactions had him feeling bold, and he finally peered at her face again.

“And what do we have here?” he stroked her fringe out of her face, a few strands still clinging to her wet cheeks. He hoped she wouldn’t notice how jittery his hands were.

“Well I’ll be damned! Those are some mighty big blue eyes you got there! You see, they’re easy to miss because you always look like you’re up to something. Which you are, generally speaking.”

It was true, Ruffnut was prone to having that mischievous glint in her eyes at all times so a genuinely friendly expression was a real rarity to witness.

“You should see them right now, they’re practically gleaming - oh wait, my bad, those are just tears.”

Ruffnut giggled and wiped her face, lightly bumping into Tuffnut’s hand which was still lingering. 

He gasped dramatically.

“What?” Ruffnut sounded unsure.

Tuffnut took her hands away from her face to give a light pinch to her nose.

“That is one dainty little nose,” he stated.

The urge to nuzzle her overcame him, and in an act of overconfidence he leaned forward to gently rub his nose against hers. It felt like the right thing to do, like he was assuring her of the truth of his words, and Ruffnut rewarded him with another giggle.

“Eww, Tuff, stop it!”

All the crying had made her voice even more rough than usual. She looked at him fondly through wet lashes, and Tuffnut couldn’t help but beam right back at her.

“D’you actually think so?” Ruffnut rubbed her nose lightly.

“Do you accuse me of lying?” indignantly he pinched her again.

“No,” she drawled, looking to the side.

Tuffnut could make out the slightest smile showing on her face, and when she moved to hide it behind her hand he held her by the wrist quickly. They looked at each other breathless for a moment, air bristling with anticipation. Tuffnut had to say something, anything, quickly.

“Y-your freckles,” he stumbled into his sentence, “you got so many, like, uhm, stars in the sky and- and your lips, they-” he looked at them briefly, not daring to get lost in thought, “they have such a nice shade.”

He breathed out and let go of his sister’s wrist.

There was a moment of silence in which Ruffnut kneaded her hands nervously.

“So… Am I pretty?” 

Tuffnut had noticed a good while ago how beautiful his sister was, though he never had dared to think about it too much. Whenever that particular line of thought had manifested he quickly found a distraction, usually a fight or some sort of property damage.

Tuffnut wished he wasn’t bare chested right now, scared his sister might see how fast his heart was pounding in his chest.

“You’re gorgeous.”

He gave her another shy smile.

Ruffnut’s eyes widened and before he could add anything she fell into his arms, embracing him somewhat clumsily. Ruffnut hid her face against his shoulder, her fingernails digging into Tuffnut’s skin.

He was taken by surprise, unable to move for a few moments before he felt her stiffen and quickly put his arms around her in a tight, earnest hug.

“Can you sleep in my bed tonight?”

He’d almost missed the question, mumbled against his chest, voice dangerously close to tears again.

“What are you, nine?” he cackled but made sure to quickly add “Of course I can, milady.”

It has been quite a while since they’d been sleeping in the same bed like that.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut were always busy punching each other, more so when they had been kids. It had been impossible to tear them apart, literally, and at night they just fell asleep all tangled up in each other. Sharing each other’s body heat and breath had been something they were used to, so it only started being weird when they were told not to do it anymore.

They had reached the age when it wasn’t  _ proper  _ to do so anymore, according to their parents.

Not having the person you love the most pressed against you every night felt way more improper, but the twins had to give in to their parent’s request.

Now Ruffnut lay in Tuffnut’s arms again, securely tucked against his side. Her head lay on his chest and she had one leg hooked over his, resting comfortably between his thighs.

It made him slightly nervous but he tried to pay it no mind. 

Absently, Tuffnut stroked his sister’s back, offering as much comfort as possible. And to take his mind off of her leg that lay so close to his- 

“Thank you for this.”

Ruffnut’s words pulled Tuffnut out of his thoughts and into reality again.

“It’s fine, really. You’re my sister, after all,” he reminded himself, “And I, uh, I really meant what I said.”

They fell silent for a few moments again until Tuffnut spoke up about something that ate him up.

“I’m sorry, Ruff. I really am. If I had known how much this hurt your feelings I would never have made so much fun of you.”

“No, it’s alright. It’s… It was stupid, anyways,” Ruffnut replied, “Guess I was just kind of emotional today.”

There was a short pause again.

“Do you think there will ever be a man that… uh…”

Tuffnut knew what she was getting at and started feeling anxious all of a sudden. There was a traitorous sting of envy he couldn’t quite ignore but he pushed it down as much as he could to be dealt with another time.

“Yeah, uhm… I’m sure the man of your dreams is out there and waiting for your maiden heart to be conquered,” he joked and got a scoff out of Ruffnut.

“Gee, that’s not cheesy at all.”

She pinched him and he pinched her back, both giggling.

“Tuff?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re a great shoulder to cry on, you know that?”

She pressed herself against him some more. Tuffnut noted the squeeze of her breasts and cleared his throat, humming absently.

He could feel his heart beat in his throat when Ruffnut started drawing circles into his bare chest and said: “You’re handsome, too.”

She was probably joking, Tuffnut knew, but he couldn’t help the blush that crept up his face now. He pinched her again and she giggled, her finger playing with his necklace now.

“Good night, Ruff. Tomorrow you’ll be back to being yourself.”

She nuzzled his shoulder lightly.

“Yeah. Good night.”

Tuffnut knew that he couldn’t get any sleep this way. He felt more awake than ever, his head was spinning and there was a prominent tingle in his belly keeping him from feeling any sort of fatigue. On top of it all was the strong urge to protect Ruffnut, to hold her in his arms like this forever so no one could make her feel bad about herself ever again.

Ruffnut’s breathing had slowed down gradually and her body was completely slack by now.

There was one thing Tuffnut couldn’t get out of his head, though, and now that his sister was asleep he finally found the courage to follow through with it.

He stroked her hair and gave her a kiss right on top of her head, closing his eyes to savour the moment. When he heard his sister’s sleepy groan and felt her stir, it was like a bucket of ice water had been emptied over his head. 

He froze, his lips still near her head, and held his breath as Ruffnut pressed a kiss to his collarbone before drifting back into sleep. The shock still sat deep, but it was joined by such a huge wave of relief that Tuffnut feared he might faint from the intensity.

Minutes, maybe even hours passed and Tuffnut just lay there with hot cheeks, but eventually he was exhausted enough to fall asleep, hugging his sister tightly just like when they were kids.


End file.
